Friends & Lovers Trilogy (9 page)

“
Really?” her mother asked
gleefully. She’d always loved Colin and had expressed the hope that
Briana would get back together with him someday. “That’s wonderful,
Bree. Are you two getting along?”

“
Yes, Mama. We’ve talked a
bit and I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt.”

“
I’m so happy, dear. The
two of you were always such a good match.”

Satisfied that her mother was going to leave
the conversation after having said her piece, Briana enjoyed
breakfast and then joined her mother for a walk around the farm.
They spent a nice day together, catching up and talking about
Briana’s plans for her culinary school application. As they sat at
her mother’s favorite bench overlooking the pond, she brought up
Colin again.

“
So, when you said you’ve
talked a bit, what does that mean?” her mother asked. She nudged
Briana’s arm and smiled.

“
We went on a
date.”

“
Really?” She drew the word
out. “That’s interesting. How’d that go?”

“
It was really nice, Mama.
I’m comfortable with him. When we talk, it feels just like it
always did, like we haven’t been apart all of these
years.”

“
You said he’s had to deal
with a lot of changes,” her mother prompted.

Briana held onto her mother’s hand and
looked out over the water. “Yeah. He’s had to let go of his dream
and find a new one. He’s really changed, Mama. He was always sweet,
but even I can admit that he was pretty self-involved in high
school. He knew what he wanted and was willing to do whatever he
needed to do to make it happen. Now he seems to be putting his
parents’ needs ahead of his own. He’s grown and realized the
consequences of his actions. I’m really enjoying getting to know
the man he’s become.”

Briana’s mom just made a hmmming sound and
they sat there in silence for a while, enjoying each other’s
company. When she walked Briana to the car, her mother engulfed her
in one last hug before pulling back to look at her, brushing the
hair off of Briana’s forehead.

“
Give Colin a second
chance, Baby Girl,” her mother said softly. “Your father and I
always liked him. You complimented each other so well.”

Briana just smiled and kissed her mother on
the cheek, before getting in her car to drive back home.

She spent the next thirty minutes thinking
about what her mother had said, and trying to decide how she felt
about it.

Chapter Thirteen

When Briana got home on Saturday night, Kara
told her that Rich had put together an impromptu barbecue at his
parents’ house for the next afternoon. They were out of town for a
few weeks, so he thought it would be the perfect time to get
everyone together.

Briana got up and went to the grocery store
to pick up a few items that she could contribute to the party. She
decided to make a spinach and raspberry salad and trifle for
desert. Just as Briana wrapped up the dishes, Kara came out in a
blue-green summer dress with strappy sandals.

“
Ready?” Kara asked as she
coated her lips with a shimmery gloss.

“
Yup. I just need to grab
my bag. You have your clothes for work?”

Kara patted the small backpack that she
carried, frowning as she said, “Yes. It stinks that we have to work
tonight. We’re going to have to leave just when the party gets
goin’.”

Briana ran to her room and grabbed her
stuff, then met Kara at the car to load everything. When they
arrived at the party there were already quite a few cars lining the
streets in front of the house. They followed the sound of the music
and the smell of the grill around the side of the house and let
themselves in through the gate. Pete and Nicole were sitting and
talking at one of the folding tables, while Rich manned the grill.
Colin, Kent and Roni stood awkwardly by a long table of food,
talking intermittently.

Briana and Kara headed towards the table to
put the dishes down and said, “Hi,” to Pete and Nicole as they
passed.

Kent walked over to Briana and leaned down
to give her a kiss. She stood still, conscious of the fact that
Colin was watching and unsure of how the next few minutes were
going to play out. Kent pulled back and looked down at her
face.

“
Everything all right,
Bree?” he asked confusion showing on his face.

“
Yeah,” she responded.
“Everything’s fine.”

She couldn’t stop her eyes from darting to
Colin and Roni. Kent followed her gaze and then turned back to
her.

“
Is there something going
on that I should know about?” He looked like he was trying not to
get upset.

“
Um, let’s go inside and
talk,” she responded leading him through Rich’s sliding glass
door.

“
Don’t tell me you fell for
his shit already, Bree,” Kent started before she had a chance to
close the door.

She saw Colin start, as if he was about to
follow them inside, but she shook her head at him and turned to
Kent. She looked up at him, her gaze taking in his blond hair and
beautiful grey eyes. He’d always been so good to her, never
pressuring her for more than she was ready to give. She felt
horrible that she couldn’t give him the one thing he’d always hoped
for.

Her.

“
Kent, it’s not about
Colin,” she began. “I love you, and I always will, but we both know
that this thing we’ve been doing for the past few years isn’t good
for either of us.”

He dragged his hand through his hair as he
paced around the room. “Don’t tell me it’s not about him. Things
were great before he got here. Look, Bree, we have an
understanding… we always have. If one of is with someone, we back
off. It’s fine. I’ll let you have your fun with Colin, then I’ll be
here for you when it’s done.”

He stopped in front of her and she saw the
hope on his face. She knew then that she had to let him go. He
deserved better than what she had to offer him.

She walked closer until their bodies were
almost touching and placed her hand on his cheek. “You deserve
better than this, Kent. Better than me. You’re a wonderful guy. You
deserve to be with a girl who will give you all of the love that
she has to offer. Who will appreciate how kind and amazing you
are.” She looked into his eyes, “We can’t do this anymore. Whether
or not things work out with Colin, I won’t be back to use you as my
crutch. But I will always cherish you as my friend.”

Kent closed his eyes, then turned away. “Can
you give me a minute?” he asked gruffly.

Briana didn’t say anything, just turned and
went back outside. She didn’t meet Colin’s eyes as she walked over
to where Pete, Nicole, and Kara sat. She sat down, but didn’t join
their conversation. She couldn’t help but picture Kent’s
crestfallen expression before he’d turned from her.

Before she knew it, the backyard was full of
people and she went in search of Kara. She walked up to where Pete
stood alone and asked him if he’d seen Kara. He nodded his head
towards the tree line of the backyard, where Kara was making out
with some tall, lanky guy that Briana didn’t recognize.

“
She’s drunk,” Pete
stated.

“
What?” Briana asked
incredulously. “We have to be to work in an hour.”

“
I don’t think she’s gonna
make it.”

Briana walked over to Kara and tugged on her
arm. “Kara. Kara. Stop. We have to go.”

The stranger pulled away long enough to say,
“Fuck off,” then went back to slobbering all over Kara.

“
Kara.” Briana tried
getting closer and tapped her on the back. “We have to get to
work.”

Kara looked back at her and said, “Hey,
Bree,” then she giggled and turned back to resume her make-out
session.

Pete approached from behind Briana and
yanked Kara off the guy. He pushed her behind him and stood to face
The Asshole.

The Asshole towered over him by a few feet
and looked menacing, his jaw clenched and neck bulging.

“
What’s your problem,
Ginger?” Asshole yelled.

“
You are,” Pete retorted.
“You shouldn’t be taking advantage of Kara when she’s had too much
to drink.”

“
Shut up, Pete,” Kara
shouted clawing at Pete’s back. “This is none of your
business.”

“
Why don’t you listen to
her, Ginger?” Asshole said.

“
Kara, just let me handle
this. You deserve better,” Pete said to her over his
shoulder.

Kara’s face turned red. She started to beat
on Pete’s back. “Don’t tell me what I deserve.”

“
How ‘bout you kick rocks
and leave us be?” Asshole stated, trying to reach around Pete to
grab Kara.

Then everything seemed to happen at once.
Colin, Kent and Rich finally noticed what was going on and ran over
to assist Pete. Pete knocked Asshole’s hand away from Kara, causing
Asshole’s face to turn a bright shade of red. Kara continued to
pound on Pete’s back.

Briana watched in horror as Asshole reared
back, then punched Pete square on his jaw. The impact caused Pete
to fall back, toppling Kara over. Pete turned to the side in order
to avoid falling on top of her.

The other guys grabbed Asshole and held him
back as Kara and Briana rushed over to Pete. He sat up and looked
dazed, but other than a red mark on his jaw, he was fine.

Kara stroked his jaw. She looked into his
eyes and started to cry.

“
I’m so sorry, Pete. I
should have listened to you.”

Pete pulled her to him and held her as she
cried. Briana got up and walked away to let them have some privacy
as the guys hustled Asshole out of the backyard through the
gate.

“
What the hell was that?”
Roni asked. “What happened?”

“
That guy got too rough and
hit Pete, so they escorted him out,” Briana said, trying to play
off the situation.

Nicole came running over. “Is Pete okay?”
she asked.

“
Yeah, but I don’t think
Kara’s going to be able to work tonight. Pam lets you serve
sometimes, right? Do you think you’d be able to cover for her
tonight?”

“
Sure,” Nicole said with a
shrug. “I don’t have any plans after this.” She glanced up as the
guys walked back through the gate.

Briana recognized the look of longing on her
face, but didn’t have time to wonder what had caused it. She was
just grateful that Nicole agreed to cover for Kara so Kara didn’t
get in trouble. She thanked Nicole, then walked over to meet Colin,
Rich, and Kent.

“
Hey, guys, Nicole is going
to cover for Kara at work tonight, so we need to get going. Can you
keep an eye on Kara and Pete and make sure they get home
okay?”

They all nodded. Briana gathered her things
and told Nicole she’d see her in a few minutes at the restaurant.
Before she made it to the car she heard Colin calling after her and
paused.

“
I really have to get to
work, Colin. I’m going to be late as it is.”

“
I’ll just take a second,
Bree,” he said quickly.

“
Okay.”

“
When can I see you
again?”

“
Um, I work the next few
nights, but we can hang out before work, or we can get together on
my day off.”

“
Great.” He smiled. “Give
me a call tomorrow.”

“
Sounds good,” she said,
and started back towards her car.

“
Hey, Bree,” he called
after her, causing her to look over her shoulder at him. “What
happened with Kent?”

“
I told him I couldn’t see
him anymore,” she replied, then got in her car and drove
away.

When she looked in her rearview mirror,
Colin was still standing in the same spot with a huge grin on his
face.

Chapter Fourteen

When Briana woke up the next morning, she
stayed in bed for a few minutes, replaying the previous day in her
mind.

She couldn’t believe the way things had
played out at the party: Kara getting drunk, even when she knew
they had to work; the Asshole being belligerent; and Pete standing
up for Kara and getting punched for his efforts.

Pam had been cool with Nicole covering for
Kara. She said that she had been considering promoting Nicole to
server, so it would give her a chance to see how she handled
herself on the floor. Before closing for the night and heading
home, Briana had thanked Nicole again for agreeing to help Kara out
as they sat down and had a drink after work.

“
No problem,” Nicole said.
“I’m sorry about what happened at the party, but I made out great
in tips tonight. It was fun.”

“
That’s great,” Briana
replied. Then she studied Nicole, taking in her good looks and the
way she carried herself, as if she’d been born to privilege. “So,
what’s your story, Nicole? No offense, but you don’t seem like the
type to be working as a hostess at a bar and grill in the middle of
nowhere.”

Nicole had turned pink, then looked down at
the napkin that she was slowly tearing to pieces. “Well, I grew up
in Dallas. My parents are wealthy and I went to private schools all
my life. It was expected that I would go to SAGU and study Youth
Ministries, then come home and marry my high school sweetheart, and
we would start a congregation together. The problem was that I
don’t love Jake, and I couldn’t go through with my parents’ plans
for me. I studied English in school and broke it off with Jake. My
parents were very disappointed in me and I just couldn’t go back,
so I came here to start a life on my own.”